‘Tis the Season to be Thankful

Have you ever heard someone say “I’ll start my diet after Thanksgiving,” which generally turns into “I think I’ll make it my new year’s resolution. It’s too difficult dieting during the holidays.”

Why is that? Why do roughly three days in a 61-day period create a mindset that it is impossible to start a healthy lifestyle. We all know the reputation Thanksgiving has. If you don’t walk away with unzipped pants and 4,000 calories worth of turkey and pie, you obviously didn’t do it right.

Then Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa come along spreading the holiday spirit the month of December. Unfortunately, holiday spirit generally translates to cookies, hot cocoa, candy, and baked goods galore. Typically, this sugar rush lasts not one day, not two days, but all 31 days.

One could, “cut out all the junk food! It’s unnecessary.” To be successful in a diet, you must hold off on the extra calories. Be disciplined. The hard work will be worth it when you reach your end result. But what happens next year? Once you have reached your goal weight, are you able to indulge in the festivities at that point? Are the extra calories suddenly acceptable?

What if we all created new expectations for the holiday season? Expectations that followed the same mentality of a healthy every day lifestyle.

Put down the torches. I am in no way suggesting that we cut out that juicy turkey, or those luscious mashed potatoes, even the warm crispy rolls. I am a firm believer that for a healthy lifestyle to last, moderation, not depravation, is key.

"Why do roughly three days in a 61-day period create a mindset that it is impossible to start a healthy lifestyle."

So, hear me out. How can we create a mindset of portion control this year as we sit around a table filled with savory and sweet goodness? What if, before making a plate for dinner, everyone made a plate of leftovers? By making a plate of leftovers, we know we will have another opportunity to eat the delicious food in front of us. This may prompt us to put a smaller portion of food on our plate at the table or it may discourage us from having a second serving at the table that would leave one feeling uncomfortably full.

The leftovers that have now been packed away will take the place of dinner the following day. So instead of a 4,000-calorie meal on Thursday, you have split that into a 2,000-calorie meal Thursday and a 2,000-calorie meal on Friday. Thus, preventing extreme overeating on Thursday and allowing one to indulge in the same amount of delicious food.

This is only one suggestion for preventing over eating at this year’s family dinner. A few more ideas include:

· Replacing serving utensils with portion sized measuring cups. This would allow those dieting to see a serving a sweet potato is ½ a cup. They would easily be able to dish exactly that given the non-traditional serving utensil.

· Leaving the food in the kitchen or out of sight after serving. With food out of sight this increases the effort required to get a second serving. The extra effort may discourage you to immediately fill your plate. This will allow the food you have eaten to settle in your stomach and trigger your body to feel full.

· Fill smaller serving dishes with food, leaving the leftover food in the kitchen. Smaller portions of food on the table will most likely subconsciously make people put less food on their plate. People generally want everyone at the table to get a serving of food within the first pass, therefore smaller bowls result in smaller portions.

These are just a few suggestions that may prevent overeating on this magical November day. Just remember, even if calories are a bit higher than normal while you celebrate all the things you are thankful for, that doesn’t mean the previous 25 days meant nothing. Also, the next 30 days can still be filled with a balanced diet and an active lifestyle. A few days filled with holiday goodies does not have to force the train completely off the tracks.

The best advice I have is, create a realistic plan for how you will get through the holiday season without losing the routine you have worked so hard to create.

If you have any suggestions or ideas for how you get through the holiday season preventing a downward spiral on the cookie slide, I would love to hear it! Comment below